GPEC or GEPP: what the reform says
The GPEC (Forward Management of Jobs and Skills) has been renamed GEPP (Management of Jobs and Career Paths). As recalled by the Rebsamen law of 17 August 2015, which renames the GPEC to GEPP, this evolution focuses on the individual trajectories of employees and on the anticipation of changes in professions, rather than on simple accounting forecasts. The Macron ordinances of 2017 completed this change, by repositioning the system around the notion of pathway.
The GEPP is a strategic approach that aims to anticipate and plan the employment and skills needs of an organization, with regard to its objectives. For companies with more than 300 employees, a three-year negotiation is required. This approach ensures that human resources management remains aligned with the company’s strategic orientations, an essential condition for maintaining competitiveness, supporting skills development and promoting internal mobility.
GPEC/GEPP diagnosis: definition
The GEPP diagnosis consists of carrying out an in-depth analysis of the company’s human resources. What skills do the staff have? What are the current and future needs? How can we achieve medium- and long-term strategic objectives through effective talent mobilization? This step produces an exhaustive inventory that highlights the gaps between the skills available and those required by the company’s trajectory.
When to launch a GPEC/GEPP diagnosis?
The GEPP diagnosis is necessary when the company wishes to structure a management plan for jobs and career paths. It guides the HR strategy, highlighting strengths, weaknesses and future needs.
It becomes particularly relevant upstream of a major transformation that has a significant impact on the workforce: organizational change, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, digital transformation or strategic repositioning. Kyu Consulting Firm also points out that a GEPP agreement is a strategic lever to avoid the use of the PSE, by anticipating changes rather than being subjected to them.
The benefits of a well-conducted GEPP diagnosis
- Maximize operational performance : Allocate the right skills to the right business lines and boosts operational efficiency and overall performance.
- Optimize HR management : identify jobs and skills, identify flaws and deploy corrective actions.
- Strengthen commitment and limit turnover : offering each employee prospects for development promotes motivation and reduces absenteeism. According to the IBET 2024, disengagement costs an average of €14,840 per year per employee in France, a hidden cost that a structured GEPP approach can reduce.
- Improve agility : anticipating recruitment, training and mobility strengthens resilience to market changes.
Methodological guide: 6 steps to a successful GPEC/GEPP diagnosis
1. Clarify strategic objectives
First of all, explain the company’s medium- and long-term objectives, as well as the issues related to the diagnosis. Why is it necessary? What problems does it address? What HR challenges structure the approach?
2. Collect HR data
Mobilize a complete documentary base:
- Job descriptions, employment contracts, organizational charts;
- Career and skills reference systems;
- Evaluation reports and reports of professional interviews;
- Demographic data (age pyramid, seniority, mobility);
- Questionnaires, surveys, individual interviews with employees and managers.
3. Analyze the existing situation and map skills
Once the data has been collected, it is a question of mapping the positions and skills:
- What are the key skills and strategic professions?
- What strengths and weaknesses characterize the HR organization?
- What skills are missing in relation to the objectives?
- What are the current recruitment, training and mobility processes?
4. Identify future needs
The analysis of the external environment (sectoral trends, technological and regulatory developments, changes in professions) sheds light on the projected needs in terms of recruitment, training and skills. The integration of artificial intelligence, for example, is reshaping the profiles sought in many sectors.
5. Identify gaps and prioritize actions
At the end of the analysis, identifying the gaps between current skills and future needs makes it possible to build a prioritized action plan: recruitment, training plan, internal mobility, knowledge transmission, senior and junior schemes.
6. Control, measure, adjust
The diagnosis is only valuable if it is part of a continuous improvement loop: monitoring indicators, annual reviews, adjustments according to strategic developments.
Concrete tools for the GEPP diagnosis
- Jobs and skills repository : common base to describe jobs, levels of mastery and possible bridges.
- Age pyramid : visualization of the demographic structure, identification of retirements to be anticipated and the risks of loss of knowledge.
- Skills criticality matrix : crossover between skill scarcity and strategic importance for prioritizing actions.
- Mapping of sensitive, low-pressure and emerging jobs : useful segmentation to target training, mobility and recruitment.
- Professional and career interviews : qualitative sources on aspirations and employability.
- HRIS and dedicated modules : digitization of the collection, reporting and monitoring of skills.
Internalize or outsource the diagnosis?
The company can conduct the diagnosis internally, via a project team involving HR directors, management, middle managers and staff representatives. Outsourcing to an expert consultant or an interim HR director remains relevant when the context requires neutrality, a proven method and the ability to deliver within short deadlines — especially before a restructuring or organizational transformation.
Are you preparing a GEPP diagnosis or a structuring HR transformation?
Wayden mobilizes experienced HR interim managers to frame, lead and deploy your GEPP approach.
FAQ — GPEC/GEPP diagnosis
What is the difference between GPEC and GEPP?
The GEPP replaces the GPEC. The Rebsamen law of 17 August 2015 renamed the GPEC to GEPP, refocusing the scheme on individual career paths and the anticipation of changes in professions.
Is the GEPP mandatory?
Yes, under conditions. GEPP negotiation is mandatory in some companies with union representation, as Tissot Editions reminds us.
What tools should be used for a GEPP diagnosis?
A job and skills repository, an age pyramid, a criticality matrix, a map of sensitive jobs and an HRIS make up the basic toolbox. Professional interviews and staff reviews complete the system.
How long does a GEPP diagnosis take?
From 2 to 6 months on average depending on the size of the company, the quality of the data available and the scope covered. A rigorous initial framing significantly shortens the time.
How to articulate the GEPP diagnosis and the training plan?
The diagnosis identifies skills gaps; The training plan is a direct result of this, by prioritising critical skills, professions in short supply and internal mobility pathways.
